Chapter 96 - The Reason

Stark Tower, New York.

After the portal closure. 2012.

After closing the portal, all the Chitauri scattered throughout the city simply fell dead on the ground. Dr. Erik Selvig could finally relax, having put an end to the nightmare he helped create. Now, there are just two more things to take care of.

The first is in my hand, Loki's scepter, or rather, the Mind Stone. I distanced myself from Selvig, pulled the gem at the top of the scepter, and stored it for a more thorough analysis later. Then, I removed a copy of the gem created by my powers and put it back on the scepter. This gem emits energy, providing the same abilities as the scepter had before, like energy blasts, but without the mind control ability. Of course, this energy gem has a limit, but it would serve to deceive them.

The scepter needs to be stolen by Hydra, so the Avengers can find and destroy it. The scepter has never been analyzed by anyone, so they won't notice the difference. Without the Mind Stone in the scepter, it means Ultron won't be born. The only problem will be that I'll have to work hard to create Vision instead of Stark, and there's also the risk of accidentally recreating Ultron. Either way, I'll think about this later.

I return to the apartment and see that Amora hasn't moved from where she was. I go to Loki and see that he's still unconscious. With a movement of my hand, a golden garment similar to a straitjacket envelops his body, immobilizing him. I lift him off the ground and see that his face is all covered in blood and his nose and jaw are broken.

(I think I overdid it a bit.)

Just for safety, I create several gold chains reinforcing his containment. With that done, I head towards Amora who is at the window looking at the city. On the horizon, I see a gigantic golden ship that easily outmatches the size of SHIELD's aircraft carrier. This is one of the largest ships from Genosha, created using all the knowledge we acquired from the celestial ship that was under Apocalypse's control. Its firepower alone should be enough to dominate this entire country. Now it's here to ensure that no man killed or injured during the aerial battle is left behind, and also to collect our technology.

"Let's go somewhere else."

I say to Amora who is in front of me. She simply nods her head in agreement. The Avengers must be coming to the Tower right now, and I want to have this conversation without an audience or interruptions.

I leave Loki behind, as well as his scepter on the floor, and also a message written on a wall saying that I would return soon. Then I grab Sigel and fly out of New York as fast as I could. Shortly after, I stopped flying when I arrived at a place I had visited once many years ago, the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I landed at a spot with a beautiful view of it, and a few seconds later, Amora teleports in front of me and stands silently looking at me.

I also didn't know how to start this conversation, or if I really want to hear her explanation, but I owe it to the years she spent by my side.

"Why?" Was all I could say.

Amora was certainly uncomfortable. I could see that she was struggling to give the answer, perhaps even afraid to say it.

"For both of us, of course."

She replied with tears in her eyes, holding back from crying.

"Yes, I imagined that. But why?"

I repeated the same question, now wanting to know all the details.

"It happened two years ago when I woke up from my injuries from the fight against that monster, she came to visit me…"

POV: Third Person.

Genosha, Royal Castle, Safe Room. T

wo Years Ago, Shortly After Baldur Defeated Gorr. 2010.

"Wake up, child…"

A voice as cold as ice made Amora open her eyes. She looks around confusedly, but her gaze focuses on the person standing in front of her bed, looking at her.

The woman wore a black robe that covered her entire body, leaving only her beautiful face exposed. She had hair as black as night, dark eyes that reminded her of a black hole, and her face could drive mortals mad with its beauty.

"You!"

Amora immediately recognized the person in front of her and was paralyzed with fear looking at her. The woman just kept looking at her until she smiled and spoke.

"We need to talk, child."

Amora then tried to get up, but couldn't due to her injuries. She could only lean her back against the headboard of a bed, looking at the intruder. She looked to the side searching for her staff until she remembered that it had been broken in the previous fight. And even if she had it in her hands, it would be of no use against the entity in front of her.

"What could Lady Death possibly want to discuss with a sorceress like me?"

Amora asked, trying as much as possible not to show her fear in her actions. Lady Death certainly already knew what Amora was feeling, she just gave her a small smile and continued to speak.

"I came to you to offer you the chance to save yourself and the one you love."

"Please, don't think that I'm just a fool easily manipulated. Death itself appears before me saying that it wants to help me? I won't agree to any of your proposals!"

Amora says with the firmest voice possible. Cosmic entities don't interact much with mortals, there are also some rules that prevent them from getting out of control, this also depends on what kind of entity we're talking about. The Phoenix, for example, can destroy anything it wants, since this is one of its functions that maintains cosmic balance. Of course, for all rules there are exceptions, for example, if an individual is manipulated by a cosmic entity to perform something, this would not go against the rules.

"Won't you even listen to me knowing that you can save the life of your beloved?" Lady Death asks.

"If we die, we die, in the end, we will meet each other in Valhalla, where we will be together for eternity."

There's no point in threatening the life of an Asgardian when he or she already knows where they're going, that was Amora's thought, but the smile still didn't leave Death's face.

"Not even to save the lives of your children?"

These words made Amora's willpower tremble.

"Are you going to threaten me with children who haven't even been born yet?" She asks with a trembling voice.

"You still don't understand, sorceress, I'm not doing anything, why would I care to do so? No matter how long a being lives, in the end, everyone comes to me. All I'm doing for you is helping to prolong this."

"Why would I believe that you're telling the truth?"

"Images speak louder than simple words, look into my eyes, child, and see for yourself."

Amora was then pulled by an invisible force that made her look into Death's eyes. Her dark eyes became empty, and Death's face then transformed into a skull. Then Amora began to see visions of what she understood to be the future.

The visions were about great wars happening in all the realms, and Baldur fighting in them. Then more battles happened with enemies she had never seen before. And in the end, she saw a large blue being with a gauntlet in his fist and Thor's head in the other. The battle between the giant and her husband made all of creation tremble, and in the end, he lost.

Her husband was forced to live as a slave as well as their children until the blue giant got tired of them and killed their children in front of Baldur. This inflamed his fury, and he chose to kill himself in a massive explosion that wiped out half of the cosmos.

Then another vision started again, with different choices, but the same final result, pain. Death was showing her several possible futures, and none of them were happy. Amora, once sure of being able to reunite with her love in the afterlife, had this thought shaken.

"Stop! Please, stop!"

Amora pleaded after losing count of how many futures she saw her love and children suffering.

"Do you see, child? I am here to help you." Death spoke, her face still skeletal.

Amora remained silent with tears in her eyes for a few minutes, then she looked at Death, now with the sole aim of avoiding all this suffering.

"What should I do?" she asked.

POV: Baldur.

Grand Canyon. 2012.

"The deal was simple, I was to somehow imprison you until Loki had conquered Earth and taken control of certain items, in return, Genosha and the two of us would not be touched.

Amora spoke, finishing her account. It can be said that I have been in a state of total confusion since the beginning of it. I never imagined that Death would lay her manipulative hands here and now. Just the fact that it was her manipulation that pushed Thanos into his madness makes me wonder why I am a target right now. The only certainty was that if Loki won the war, Thanos would have three of the infinity stones in his hands. That is if he could defeat the Ancient One.

"You could have talked to me." I said to Amora.

"I've known you for a long time, Baldur, I know you wouldn't give up and would try to change this future. And if I told you about our deal, it would be canceled," she said, giving me a half-smile.

Lady Death presented several possible futures to Amora at one of the moments when she was most vulnerable. And none of them were happy, with an infinite number of possibilities, finding those with more tragedies would not be difficult.

"Amora. Think about it, if my defeat was as guaranteed as she said, why would she come to you with this deal?"

I can only think that Death saw me as the only obstacle for her chosen one to get all the stones.

"You wouldn't understand, Baldur, all those visions of pain and suffering, I simply couldn't risk it, even with a one percent chance that any of those futures would come true, I couldn't risk it."

(I understand her side, I really do.)

The reasons for Amora's betrayal were not power or greed, it was fear.

"I forgive you, Amora."

I said to her, who was shocked by my words, then I saw her eyes shine with happiness. Happiness that I will destroy with my next sentence.

"But my trust in you is not something I can restore as it was before."

My wife froze, looking at me and crying, I made a great effort not to hug her.

"So Amora, from today, you are banished from Genosha. All your rights and powers as queen are revoked, this is my punishment for you."

I know my wife well, if I just forgive her here, she will be tormenting herself in Genosha as she did in the time I was banished from Asgard. She needs to be punished, and then rise again on her own. And then regain my trust in her, only then, she will be able to move forward.

Amora fell to her knees and began to cry, she didn't beg me or say any phrase, I left her like that and headed towards New York, there are still things for me to take care of at Stark Tower.

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